Publications
Analogy between Sudoku and the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal metabolism Journal Article
Giampietro, Mario; Bukkens, Sandra G. F.
In: Ecological Informatics, 26 (P1), pp. 18–28, 2015, ISSN: 15749541.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Integrated assessment, Multi-scale analysis, MuSIASEM, Mutual information, Societal metabolism, Sudoku
@article{Giampietro2015a,
title = {Analogy between Sudoku and the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal metabolism},
author = {Mario Giampietro and Sandra G. F. Bukkens},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1574954114001034},
doi = {10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.07.007},
issn = {15749541},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-03-01},
journal = {Ecological Informatics},
volume = {26},
number = {P1},
pages = {18--28},
abstract = {This paper illustrates the analogy between Sudoku and the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM). MuSIASEM is a transdisciplinary approach aimed at checking the viability, desirability and feasibility of actual and projected metabolic patterns of society. Building on Georgescu-Roegen's flow-fund model, it defines what the system is in terms of fund elements (human activity, managed land, power capacity), and what it does in terms of flow elements (energy, food, water, monetary flows). The accounting method of MuSIASEM generates a multi-scale, multi-dimensional representation of flow and fund elements that shares essential features with Sudoku, including mutual information and impredicativity between bottom-up and top-down causality. Data organization employed in MuSIASEM reveals the internal and external constraints that operate on the societal metabolic pattern and that determine its viability and feasibility domain. The dynamic equilibrium between the hypercyclic and dissipative macro-compartments of society expresses itself as a regional constraint on the viability of the metabolic pattern. The MuSIASEM approach is illustrated with case studies including the energy metabolism of Spain and the metabolic pattern of Mauritius.},
keywords = {Integrated assessment, Multi-scale analysis, MuSIASEM, Mutual information, Societal metabolism, Sudoku},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This paper illustrates the analogy between Sudoku and the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM). MuSIASEM is a transdisciplinary approach aimed at checking the viability, desirability and feasibility of actual and projected metabolic patterns of society. Building on Georgescu-Roegen's flow-fund model, it defines what the system is in terms of fund elements (human activity, managed land, power capacity), and what it does in terms of flow elements (energy, food, water, monetary flows). The accounting method of MuSIASEM generates a multi-scale, multi-dimensional representation of flow and fund elements that shares essential features with Sudoku, including mutual information and impredicativity between bottom-up and top-down causality. Data organization employed in MuSIASEM reveals the internal and external constraints that operate on the societal metabolic pattern and that determine its viability and feasibility domain. The dynamic equilibrium between the hypercyclic and dissipative macro-compartments of society expresses itself as a regional constraint on the viability of the metabolic pattern. The MuSIASEM approach is illustrated with case studies including the energy metabolism of Spain and the metabolic pattern of Mauritius.
Cadillo-Benalcazar, Juan José
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2015, ISBN: 9788449057977.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Food, MuSIASEM, sustainability
@phdthesis{Cadillo-Benalcazar2015,
title = {El uso de la gram\'{a}tica del musiasem para el an\'{a}lisis cuantitativo de la sostenibilidad de los sistemas alimentarios},
author = {Juan Jos\'{e} Cadillo-Benalcazar},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10803/322819},
isbn = {9788449057977},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-01},
pages = {293},
school = {Universitat Aut\`{o}noma de Barcelona},
abstract = {In modern times, science is facing the challenge of how to represent the interaction between socio-economic systems and ecological systems, which together can be regarded as socio-ecological systems, in order to quantitatively analyze their sustainability. To face this challenge it is necessary to break the traditional reductionist approaches of science, to build an alternative paradigm that is aware of the unavoidable limitations in quantitative representations of these systems. These limitations arise from the lack of understanding that socio-ecological systems are complex systems organized across different levels of organization. From this perspective, socio-economic system and ecological systems can only be observed across different scales and dimensions. Indeed, the dynamics of these interactions cause any activity that happens in one to affect the other and vice versa, thus providing an analytical framework for sustainability. From an acknowledgment of these limitations, the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) introduces the concept of grammar as a means to overcome the epistemological challenge of representing complex systems. A grammar is defined as a set of relations established between semantic categories, previously defined, and formal categories in order to obtain a representation able to be operationalized in quantitative terms across different scales and dimensions. Thus, grammar is proposed as an analytical tool capable of assessing the sustainability of the socio-ecological system without falling in the risk of an excessive simplification of quantitative reductionism. A key aspect of the sustainability of any society is the proper fulfillment of basic needs such as food. In this regard, although the planet produces enough food for all, there are about 805 million people suffering from hunger and a third of production is lost or wasted. It is also expected that in the future these conditions will worsen as a result of reliance on technological inputs used in food production, changes in the diet of the population (with more animal products), biophysical resource depletion and climate change. Faced with this tragic reality, institutions and decision-making authorities have stressed the urgent need to devise strategies aimed at food security. There is a need to have an overview, which includes what society consumes; the inner vision of the metabolism, and where food comes from, how it is produced and what is consumed; the external view of the metabolism. Only then, can you have a holistic knowledge to discuss and improve strategies aimed at food security. In this thesis I tested the utility of the grammar renderer MuSIASEM as socio-ecological instrument, able to identify vulnerabilities in the food systems of societies and its potential as a source of information -based on the coherent integration of demographic, economic and biophysical variables- for decision-making. Three case studies - Mauritius, the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador as a whole \textendash were used for such a test.},
keywords = {Food, MuSIASEM, sustainability},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
In modern times, science is facing the challenge of how to represent the interaction between socio-economic systems and ecological systems, which together can be regarded as socio-ecological systems, in order to quantitatively analyze their sustainability. To face this challenge it is necessary to break the traditional reductionist approaches of science, to build an alternative paradigm that is aware of the unavoidable limitations in quantitative representations of these systems. These limitations arise from the lack of understanding that socio-ecological systems are complex systems organized across different levels of organization. From this perspective, socio-economic system and ecological systems can only be observed across different scales and dimensions. Indeed, the dynamics of these interactions cause any activity that happens in one to affect the other and vice versa, thus providing an analytical framework for sustainability. From an acknowledgment of these limitations, the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) introduces the concept of grammar as a means to overcome the epistemological challenge of representing complex systems. A grammar is defined as a set of relations established between semantic categories, previously defined, and formal categories in order to obtain a representation able to be operationalized in quantitative terms across different scales and dimensions. Thus, grammar is proposed as an analytical tool capable of assessing the sustainability of the socio-ecological system without falling in the risk of an excessive simplification of quantitative reductionism. A key aspect of the sustainability of any society is the proper fulfillment of basic needs such as food. In this regard, although the planet produces enough food for all, there are about 805 million people suffering from hunger and a third of production is lost or wasted. It is also expected that in the future these conditions will worsen as a result of reliance on technological inputs used in food production, changes in the diet of the population (with more animal products), biophysical resource depletion and climate change. Faced with this tragic reality, institutions and decision-making authorities have stressed the urgent need to devise strategies aimed at food security. There is a need to have an overview, which includes what society consumes; the inner vision of the metabolism, and where food comes from, how it is produced and what is consumed; the external view of the metabolism. Only then, can you have a holistic knowledge to discuss and improve strategies aimed at food security. In this thesis I tested the utility of the grammar renderer MuSIASEM as socio-ecological instrument, able to identify vulnerabilities in the food systems of societies and its potential as a source of information -based on the coherent integration of demographic, economic and biophysical variables- for decision-making. Three case studies - Mauritius, the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador as a whole – were used for such a test.
The water metabolism of socio-ecosystems. Epistemology, methods and applications PhD Thesis
López, Cristina Madrid
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2014, ISBN: 9788449050541.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Agriculture, Complex systems, Integrated Water Resources Management, MuSIASEM, Socio-ecological system, Virtual Water
@phdthesis{MadridLopez2014,
title = {The water metabolism of socio-ecosystems. Epistemology, methods and applications},
author = {Cristina Madrid L\'{o}pez},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10803/285540},
isbn = {9788449050541},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-01-01},
pages = {300},
school = {Universitat Aut\`{o}noma de Barcelona},
abstract = {The research line presented in this dissertation is a first attempt to provide a bridge for the communication between Hydrological studies and Social Metabolism. It was born from the observation that water is neglected in Social Metabolism and that current water science, while certain about the need of evolving towards a more interdisciplinary field, still faces challenges in the connection of social and ecosystem analyses. The contribution made here is the definition of an analytical framework \textendashthe Water Metabolism of Socioecosystems- where this connection can be established and which is formed by a conceptual proposal and a methodological toolkit. The document is divided in three parts where the epistemological, the methodological and the formal novelties of the framework are discussed. Part I covers the epistemological reflections related to the analytical framework. It begins in Chapter 1 with the explanation of the challenges faced by current water science and that relate to the need of finding analytical frameworks that contribute useful inputs to integrated management of the water resources (IWRM). As with the case of other resources, IWRM requires the analytical connection of the social and ecosystem dynamics. As a key piece within Sustainability Science the analogy of the metabolism of societies can be used to establish this connection. However, the metabolism concept needs a close examination before its joint use with other conceptions of the relations between humans and nature. After highlighting the need of considering the societal and ecosystem metabolism of socio-ecosystems as two separate but connected processes, a conceptual scheme is proposed in Chapter 2 to describe the metabolic relations between them. In Chapter 3, this scheme is adapted to the specifics of water using some of the most relevant concepts in socio- and eco-hydrology. In this way the water metabolism of socio-ecosystems is defined as the metabolism of the coupled water-human systems. Part II describes the methodological framework. In Chapter 4 the Multi-Scale Assessment of the Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) is presented as an established framework able to deal with the scale issues and the integration of narratives. MuSIASEM is selected as a root and adapted to the analyses of coupled water-human systems. Since water presents some differences with the previous energy-focus analyses, its adaptation requires the inclusion of new scales of analysis \textendashproblemshed and watershed- and new definitions of water as a metabolite \textendashas flow and fund. In Chapter 5 the differences and synergies between MuSIASEM and the water footprint analysis \textendashas one of the tools of the IWRM- are highlighted. In part III four case studies are presented with two objectives. First, Chapter 6 assesses the sustainability of the metabolic patterns I Punjab and Mauritius in order to test the adaptation of MuSIASEM to water and to show how this type of analyses is made functional. Second, Chapter 7 shows how the water footprint accounting methods can complement the analysis of the water flows in MuSIASEM and how MuSIASEM, in turn an provide a space for their contextualization.},
keywords = {Agriculture, Complex systems, Integrated Water Resources Management, MuSIASEM, Socio-ecological system, Virtual Water},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
The research line presented in this dissertation is a first attempt to provide a bridge for the communication between Hydrological studies and Social Metabolism. It was born from the observation that water is neglected in Social Metabolism and that current water science, while certain about the need of evolving towards a more interdisciplinary field, still faces challenges in the connection of social and ecosystem analyses. The contribution made here is the definition of an analytical framework –the Water Metabolism of Socioecosystems- where this connection can be established and which is formed by a conceptual proposal and a methodological toolkit. The document is divided in three parts where the epistemological, the methodological and the formal novelties of the framework are discussed. Part I covers the epistemological reflections related to the analytical framework. It begins in Chapter 1 with the explanation of the challenges faced by current water science and that relate to the need of finding analytical frameworks that contribute useful inputs to integrated management of the water resources (IWRM). As with the case of other resources, IWRM requires the analytical connection of the social and ecosystem dynamics. As a key piece within Sustainability Science the analogy of the metabolism of societies can be used to establish this connection. However, the metabolism concept needs a close examination before its joint use with other conceptions of the relations between humans and nature. After highlighting the need of considering the societal and ecosystem metabolism of socio-ecosystems as two separate but connected processes, a conceptual scheme is proposed in Chapter 2 to describe the metabolic relations between them. In Chapter 3, this scheme is adapted to the specifics of water using some of the most relevant concepts in socio- and eco-hydrology. In this way the water metabolism of socio-ecosystems is defined as the metabolism of the coupled water-human systems. Part II describes the methodological framework. In Chapter 4 the Multi-Scale Assessment of the Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) is presented as an established framework able to deal with the scale issues and the integration of narratives. MuSIASEM is selected as a root and adapted to the analyses of coupled water-human systems. Since water presents some differences with the previous energy-focus analyses, its adaptation requires the inclusion of new scales of analysis –problemshed and watershed- and new definitions of water as a metabolite –as flow and fund. In Chapter 5 the differences and synergies between MuSIASEM and the water footprint analysis –as one of the tools of the IWRM- are highlighted. In part III four case studies are presented with two objectives. First, Chapter 6 assesses the sustainability of the metabolic patterns I Punjab and Mauritius in order to test the adaptation of MuSIASEM to water and to show how this type of analyses is made functional. Second, Chapter 7 shows how the water footprint accounting methods can complement the analysis of the water flows in MuSIASEM and how MuSIASEM, in turn an provide a space for their contextualization.
Multi-scale integrated analysis of rural Laos: Studying metabolic patterns of land uses across different levels and scales Journal Article
Serrano-Tovar, Tarik; Giampietro, Mario
In: Land Use Policy, 36 , pp. 155–170, 2014, ISSN: 02648377.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Integrated assessment, Land use analysis, Laos, Multi-scale analysis, MuSIASEM, Rural systems
@article{Serrano-Tovar2014,
title = {Multi-scale integrated analysis of rural Laos: Studying metabolic patterns of land uses across different levels and scales},
author = {Tarik Serrano-Tovar and Mario Giampietro},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0264837713001506},
doi = {10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.08.003},
issn = {02648377},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-01-01},
journal = {Land Use Policy},
volume = {36},
pages = {155--170},
abstract = {This paper presents an application of the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach to the analysis of rural land uses. Using secondary data on farming systems in Laos, we illustrate how the concept of metabolic pattern can be used to establish links between the various indicators of performance of rural systems. To this purpose, we characterize the socioeconomic activities in rural Laos by a series of quantitative indicators defined across: (i) different hierarchical levels of organization described at different scales (i.e. households, rural villages, administrative regions and the whole country) and (ii) different dimensions of analysis, including economic, agronomic, social, biophysical, and ecological analysis. The MuSIASEM approach simultaneously employs two non-equivalent criteria for quantification. The observed rural system is described in terms of an integrated set of flow elements (money, food, energy, water, fertilizer and other materials), which are mapped against two distinct fund elements: (i) a multi-level matrix of human activity (flows being expressed in terms of intensity per hour) and (ii) a multi-level matrix of land uses (flows being expressed as density per hectare). Our case study shows that in this way it is possible to move across different hierarchical levels, scales and dimensions, to arrive at an integrated representation of the metabolic pattern of farming systems. textcopyright 2013 Elsevier Ltd.},
keywords = {Integrated assessment, Land use analysis, Laos, Multi-scale analysis, MuSIASEM, Rural systems},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This paper presents an application of the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach to the analysis of rural land uses. Using secondary data on farming systems in Laos, we illustrate how the concept of metabolic pattern can be used to establish links between the various indicators of performance of rural systems. To this purpose, we characterize the socioeconomic activities in rural Laos by a series of quantitative indicators defined across: (i) different hierarchical levels of organization described at different scales (i.e. households, rural villages, administrative regions and the whole country) and (ii) different dimensions of analysis, including economic, agronomic, social, biophysical, and ecological analysis. The MuSIASEM approach simultaneously employs two non-equivalent criteria for quantification. The observed rural system is described in terms of an integrated set of flow elements (money, food, energy, water, fertilizer and other materials), which are mapped against two distinct fund elements: (i) a multi-level matrix of human activity (flows being expressed in terms of intensity per hour) and (ii) a multi-level matrix of land uses (flows being expressed as density per hectare). Our case study shows that in this way it is possible to move across different hierarchical levels, scales and dimensions, to arrive at an integrated representation of the metabolic pattern of farming systems. textcopyright 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
Water-Use Sustainability in Socioecological Systems: A Multiscale Integrated Approach Journal Article
Madrid, Cristina; Cabello, Violeta; Giampietro, Mario
In: BioScience, 63 (1), pp. 14–24, 2013, ISSN: 1525-3244.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: multiscale assessment, MuSIASEM, socioecosystems, water metabolism, water-use sustainability
@article{Madrid2013,
title = {Water-Use Sustainability in Socioecological Systems: A Multiscale Integrated Approach},
author = {Cristina Madrid and Violeta Cabello and Mario Giampietro},
url = {https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-lookup/doi/10.1525/bio.2013.63.1.6},
doi = {10.1525/bio.2013.63.1.6},
issn = {1525-3244},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-01-01},
journal = {BioScience},
volume = {63},
number = {1},
pages = {14--24},
abstract = {Human societies and ecosystems use water in different ways and at different scales, which complicates the study of water-use sustainability in socioecological systems. We present a multiscale integrated assessment of societal and ecosystem metabolism, an innovative approach to the quantitative analysis of water use that addresses the problem of multiple scales. It builds on the concept of metabolic pattern and the flow-fund model of Georgescu-Roegen. We show how to define water resources and water use (expressed in hourly rates) for socioeconomic systems in relation to the identities of relevant fund elements (relevant categories of human activity or land use) over a time span of 1 year. Similarly, we define the limits on the human appropriation of water (aggregate withdrawal or damping per year) on the basis of the structural and functional stability of ecological funds (defined over a much longer time scale) and the related land-use pattern. textcopyright 2013 by American Institute of Biological Sciences. All rights reserved.},
keywords = {multiscale assessment, MuSIASEM, socioecosystems, water metabolism, water-use sustainability},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Human societies and ecosystems use water in different ways and at different scales, which complicates the study of water-use sustainability in socioecological systems. We present a multiscale integrated assessment of societal and ecosystem metabolism, an innovative approach to the quantitative analysis of water use that addresses the problem of multiple scales. It builds on the concept of metabolic pattern and the flow-fund model of Georgescu-Roegen. We show how to define water resources and water use (expressed in hourly rates) for socioeconomic systems in relation to the identities of relevant fund elements (relevant categories of human activity or land use) over a time span of 1 year. Similarly, we define the limits on the human appropriation of water (aggregate withdrawal or damping per year) on the basis of the structural and functional stability of ecological funds (defined over a much longer time scale) and the related land-use pattern. textcopyright 2013 by American Institute of Biological Sciences. All rights reserved.
Catalonia's energy metabolism: Using the MuSIASEM approach at different scales Journal Article
Ramos-Martín, Jesús; Cañellas-Boltà, Sílvia; Giampietro, Mario; Gamboa, Gonzalo
In: Energy Policy, 37 (11), pp. 4658–4671, 2009, ISSN: 03014215.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Energy metabolism, Integrated analysis, MuSIASEM
@article{Ramos-Martin2009,
title = {Catalonia's energy metabolism: Using the MuSIASEM approach at different scales},
author = {Jes\'{u}s Ramos-Mart\'{i}n and S\'{i}lvia Ca\~{n}ellas-Bolt\`{a} and Mario Giampietro and Gonzalo Gamboa},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0301421509004352},
doi = {10.1016/j.enpol.2009.06.028},
issn = {03014215},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-11-01},
journal = {Energy Policy},
volume = {37},
number = {11},
pages = {4658--4671},
abstract = {This paper applies the so-called Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM), based on Georgescu-Roegen's fund-flow model, to the Spanish region of Catalonia. It arrives to the conclusion that within the context of the end of cheap oil, the current development model of the Catalan economy, based on the growth of low-productivity sectors such as services and construction, must be changed. The change is needed not only because of the increasing scarcity of affordable energy and the increasing environmental impact of present development, but also because of the aging population. Moreover, the situation experienced by Catalonia is similar to that of other European countries and many other developed countries. This implies that we can expect a wave of major structural changes in the economy of developed countries worldwide. To make things more challenging, according to current trends, the energy intensity and exosomatic energy metabolism of Catalonia will keep increasing in the near future. To avoid a reduction in the standard of living of Catalans due to a reduction in the available energy it is important that the Government of Catalonia implement major adjustments and conservation efforts in both the household and paid-work sectors. textcopyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.},
keywords = {Energy metabolism, Integrated analysis, MuSIASEM},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This paper applies the so-called Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM), based on Georgescu-Roegen's fund-flow model, to the Spanish region of Catalonia. It arrives to the conclusion that within the context of the end of cheap oil, the current development model of the Catalan economy, based on the growth of low-productivity sectors such as services and construction, must be changed. The change is needed not only because of the increasing scarcity of affordable energy and the increasing environmental impact of present development, but also because of the aging population. Moreover, the situation experienced by Catalonia is similar to that of other European countries and many other developed countries. This implies that we can expect a wave of major structural changes in the economy of developed countries worldwide. To make things more challenging, according to current trends, the energy intensity and exosomatic energy metabolism of Catalonia will keep increasing in the near future. To avoid a reduction in the standard of living of Catalans due to a reduction in the available energy it is important that the Government of Catalonia implement major adjustments and conservation efforts in both the household and paid-work sectors. textcopyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM): Theoretical concepts and basic rationale Journal Article
Giampietro, Mario; Mayumi, Kozo; Ramos-Martin, Jesus
In: Energy, 34 (3), pp. 313–322, 2009, ISSN: 03605442.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Exosomatic energy, Impredicative loop analysis, Multi-purpose grammars, Multi-scale integrated analysis, MuSIASEM, Societal metabolism, Sudoku effect
@article{Giampietro2009a,
title = {Multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM): Theoretical concepts and basic rationale},
author = {Mario Giampietro and Kozo Mayumi and Jesus Ramos-Martin},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0360544208001965},
doi = {10.1016/j.energy.2008.07.020},
issn = {03605442},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-03-01},
journal = {Energy},
volume = {34},
number = {3},
pages = {313--322},
abstract = {The multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach makes it possible to perform a check on the feasibility and desirability of patterns of metabolism of socio-economic systems by providing a characterization at different levels and scales of: (a) the performance of socio-economic activities (for households, enterprises, economic sectors, national economies, world economy) and (b) ecological constraints (micro, meso, macro) by looking at the interference that the metabolism of matter and energy flows controlled by human activity induces on the expected pattern of metabolism of matter and energy flows associated with the self-organization of natural ecosystems. This paper presents three theoretical concepts behind the analytical approach MuSIASEM: (1) how to represent the endosomatic and exosomatic metabolism of societies using Georgescu-Roegen's flow-fund scheme; (2) how to generate a Sudoku effect across representations of different units of production and consumption defined at different levels; and (3) how to perform an impredicative loop analysis when dealing with changes (evolution) of the characteristics of dynamic budgets of metabolized flows, represented across different scales. Since sustainability deals with "becoming systems"-systems becoming something else in their process of evolution-an analysis of sustainability must adopt analytical tools semantically open in their representation of change. MuSIASEM can do that since it is a "multi-purpose grammar", which can be used for building a shared perception and representation of this "becoming" when studying sustainability. That is, it entails an agreement on an expected set of relations between "relevant semantic categories" and "pertinent formal categories" across hierarchical levels and across different narratives; for this reason it represents a clear discontinuity from models developed within the paradigm of reductionism to deal with the issue of sustainability. textcopyright 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.},
keywords = {Exosomatic energy, Impredicative loop analysis, Multi-purpose grammars, Multi-scale integrated analysis, MuSIASEM, Societal metabolism, Sudoku effect},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach makes it possible to perform a check on the feasibility and desirability of patterns of metabolism of socio-economic systems by providing a characterization at different levels and scales of: (a) the performance of socio-economic activities (for households, enterprises, economic sectors, national economies, world economy) and (b) ecological constraints (micro, meso, macro) by looking at the interference that the metabolism of matter and energy flows controlled by human activity induces on the expected pattern of metabolism of matter and energy flows associated with the self-organization of natural ecosystems. This paper presents three theoretical concepts behind the analytical approach MuSIASEM: (1) how to represent the endosomatic and exosomatic metabolism of societies using Georgescu-Roegen's flow-fund scheme; (2) how to generate a Sudoku effect across representations of different units of production and consumption defined at different levels; and (3) how to perform an impredicative loop analysis when dealing with changes (evolution) of the characteristics of dynamic budgets of metabolized flows, represented across different scales. Since sustainability deals with "becoming systems"-systems becoming something else in their process of evolution-an analysis of sustainability must adopt analytical tools semantically open in their representation of change. MuSIASEM can do that since it is a "multi-purpose grammar", which can be used for building a shared perception and representation of this "becoming" when studying sustainability. That is, it entails an agreement on an expected set of relations between "relevant semantic categories" and "pertinent formal categories" across hierarchical levels and across different narratives; for this reason it represents a clear discontinuity from models developed within the paradigm of reductionism to deal with the issue of sustainability. textcopyright 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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